By Kevin Loria

“The Billion Mollusk Project” is an ambitious plan by Friends of Brook Park to help clean up Bronx waterways. Their goal is to reintroduce mollusks – oysters, mussels, and others – to the Bronx Kill, between the Harlem and East rivers. These marine invertebrates naturally filter water while feeding on algae and plankton, removing pollutants and sediment in the process. It would be years before they’d be safe to eat, but these little creatures are powerful cleaners. Restorations Project Manager Aaron Petersohn explains the plan; scientist Meredith Comi, who is already running similar oyster restoration research projects in Hastings on Hudson, Soundview Park, Governors Island, Bay Ridge Flats, and Staten Island, explains how these animals do their work.